


Nurse & Soldier: Cornered

by CrimsonFirebreeze



Series: Nurse and Soldier [13]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Character Study, F/M, Help, One Shot, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-22 20:17:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3742270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonFirebreeze/pseuds/CrimsonFirebreeze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andy, against Steve's advice, has tracked down the Winter Soldier in the Smithsonian. Though he seems to recognize her, he doesn't trust her and she carefully coaxes him into taking a leap of faith</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nurse & Soldier: Cornered

**Author's Note:**

> So... Not sure this will actually be the canon meeting for my multi-chapter fic (-GASP- you read that right!), but it was the original one I wrote when trying to get a feel for both Andy and Bucky. I like it enough to post it here. 
> 
> On my Tumblr too! (AmpersandXVII)

**2014**

He stood facing her, silent as the corpse he was supposed to be. Seventy years and ghost sat in front of her. And that is all he really is in this moment, a ghost of his former self. He was watching her, cold eyes calculating. Steve had told her not to do this to herself but she had ignored him. Steve being alive had already been too much. But Bucky too?

He was larger than the last time she had seen him, no longer lean and slender but muscled out like a human tank. Lithe enough for combative acrobatics that she had only seen Black Widow accomplish. The rest were subtle changes and expected changes like the small signs of aging, the dark stubble covering his jaw. But the most startling change was the cybernetic arm.

She had found him in the Smithsonian, wandering around the Captain America exhibit, staring at himself. She’d known he’d be there and she had planned carefully; did her make-up the way she had before the war. He’d recognized her almost immediately, she saw that much in his eyes. But they were quick to turn suspicious and untrusting. She didnt blame him either. She should be dead, as he should have been. She’d asked him to trust her though, from one ghost to another, and he followed her to a more private place where they could talk. But all she wanted to do was hug him.

“I know you,” he said finally, but it was clear that he couldn’t place her face.

"You and I have a very long history,” she replied. When he said nothing, she continued. “Before the war,  you and I were… Together.”

His eyebrows came together and a frown pulled at his mouth. His eyes were far away, looking at her her without seeing her. She had seen this look before, many times over in soldiers fighting traumatic amnesia. And it stung to watch him struggling like this, chewing at the inside of his lip, his face contorting into frustration and confusion.

“You were… A nurse?”

“Yes.”

His eyes fell to her neck and lower. He moved forward and grabbed the chain around her neck, pulling the dog tag free of her shirt. He stared at it as if he was willing it to speak.

“This is mine,” he said.

“Yes.”

“I gave it to you.”

“You did.”

He was quiet again, fingering the dog tag. His eyes watered up and his mouth set itself in another frown. He was shaking and she carefully covered his hand with her own. She knew she had to tread carefully here and that made this harder.

“We were together,” he said. “You were my girl.”

“Yes, Bucky.”

“We were together.”

“Yes.”

His eyes met hers and there was that recognition there again. Hope blossomed in her and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Too soon, though, the suspicion was there again and he ripped his hand from hers, stepping back and not unlike a cornered animal in the way he tensed.

“How are you here,” he growled.

“Same as you. Same as Steve,” she answered slowly. “Experimental serums.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

He was still backing away, looking more vicious and feral as he did. Whatever was going on in his head, it wasn’t anything good and he was beginning to panic.

“James, listen to me,” she said softly. “I’m here, I’m real and there is an explanation for all of it. I just want to help you.”

She held out her hand to him and he tensed again, watching her. Finally though, he relaxed a little bit and reached for her hand. She smiled a bit, even though she knew he didn’t trust her, and frankly, she couldn’t blame him for that either. After reading the file, she would have been astounded if he had.

“Come on. You look like you could use a hot shower and good meal,” she said gently. He nodded slightly and she led him towards the exit.


End file.
